Reform councillor creates copy of airport’s managing company

A Reform UK councillor who co-founded a branded company for financial gain will lose his committee positions, the party has said.

Dave Knight was listed on Companies House as a director of Fly Doncaster (Auxiliary Services) Ltd alongside Rachel Reed, a fellow Reform councillor and the party’s deputy leader on City of Doncaster Council.

The business, which was established on 18 September, shares the first part of its name with the “arms-length” company created by the council to manage Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA).

Reform accepted Knight had created the business, which would have dealt directly with the council, for “financial gain”.

Its incorporation led to confusion when council sources said the new company had “absolutely nothing to do with us”.

Reform spokesperson Jason Charity said: “It was councillor Knight’s idea. He thought that the auxiliary services around DSA have not been established, and he thought there was a business opportunity in it.”

Charity, who is a councillor for Conisbrough ward alongside Reed and William Shaw, said the business was legal but “not something that Reform UK would have approved”.

The “big mistake” Knight made was “not consulting with local leadership or national HQ” where the idea would have been rejected, Charity added.

Knight will no longer sit on the overview and scrutiny management committee (OSMC) or chair the health and adult social care overview and scrutiny panel.

Despite the pair being registered as equal partners, the party has rallied behind Reed who chairs the OSMC, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“For Rachel, we have taken advice on her ability to chair the OSMC and based on her explanation, it would not have hindered her,” he said.

He said Knight had suggested the idea to her as she was rushing to a committee meeting, and she “didn’t think it through in the rush”.

“She said it sounded like a great idea and before she knew it, she was registered on the company,” Charity added.

Knight is set to de-register the company, with the party adding that Reed has already “set the ball rolling to resign as a director”.

The episode follows the unanimous approval of £160m of public money to go towards reopening DSA, which closed in 2022.

Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones, South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard, and the Labour leaders of Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham’s councils agreed the funding on 9 September.

Reform UK subsequently tabled a symbolic motion of no confidence in Jones, seconded by Reed, accusing her of misleading people over DSA.

It suggested she knew the spring 2026 target for passenger flights was unattainable but kept it secret for electoral purposes, which she has denied.

Reform UK and the Conservatives combined to pass the motion in a majority over Labour’s 13-strong group on the council.

It does not remove Jones from office or affect her statutory powers.